Ball State University
Notre Dame
Softball Tops Notre Dame 6-3 In Regional Opener
May 16, 2015 | Softball
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - - With one swing of the bat, the Ball State softball team jump started its 2015 NCAA South Bend Regional run with a blast on its way to a 6-3 victory over 16-seeded Notre Dame Friday evening at Melissa Cook Stadium.
In picking up the first NCAA Regional victory in program history, the Cardinals (34-23) managed to out-hit the 21st-ranked Fighting Irish (40-14) by a 10-6 margin, including a pair of home runs and a triple. With the win, Ball State becomes the first team to defeat a national seed in its opening game since the 2012 season when four different seeded teams lost their opening game.
“It was an exciting game,” Ball State head coach Tyra Perry said. “It was definitely a great team effort on our part. I was really excited offensively to start with such a great at bat by Selena. Then Nicole came in and did an excellent job. We know we can do whatever we put our minds to, so we approach the game that way. Notre Dame is an excellent team with a very strong tradition, but we decided to focus on our team and making sure we were prepared.”
The Ball State softball team returns to action Saturday at noon, when it plays Kentucky for the right to advance directly to the championship game of the NCAA South Bend Regional. The Wildcats earned a 5-4 victory over Northwestern in their opening game of the regional prior to the Cardinals' win.
“This was one victory on the road to our goal,” Perry continued. “We are one of 64 teams just like everyone else. We are here to play hard in hopes of winning the tournament like everyone else. This was one victory on the road to hopefully many more.”
The Cardinals' offense wasted little time in its 2015 NCAA Regional debut, as junior shortstop Selena Reyna (Houston, Texas/South Houston) opened the game by taking a 2-0 pitch deep over the wall in left field to give Ball State a 1-0 advantage. The home run marked the first hit longer than a double in NCAA regional play for the Ball State softball program.
“I was just going in there, taking it as a normal at bat,” Reyna said about her leadoff home run. “I was just looking for my pitch.”
Notre Dame countered in the bottom of the first with a one-out bloop double to center field by Emilee Koerner and a two-out RBI single to right field by Micaela Arizmendi to even the score at 1-1.
After a pair of scoreless innings, the Cardinals looked to go down quietly in the top of the fourth after a pair of quick outs. However, sophomore catcher Shelbie Scamihorn (Terre Haute, Ind./South Vigo) kept the Ball State offense alive with a hard grounder past the Notre Dame third baseman. Junior first baseman Sammi Cowger (Fenton, Mich./Fenton) followed with a two-run blast into the trees in right-center field to give Ball State a 3-1 lead.
The Irish looked poised to counter in the bottom of the fourth, putting runners on the corners with two outs. However, Ball State junior pitcher Nicole Steinbach (Merrillville, Ind./Andrean) was able to induce a pop up to end the inning.
The Cardinals offense then picked up where it left off with three more runs in the top of the fifth. With one out, Reyna drew a five-pitch walk and advanced to second on an soft slap single by senior left fielder Loren Cihlar (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North). Junior second baseman Emily Dabkowski (Plainfield, Ind./South Putnam) brought both runners home on the next pitch with a triple down the right field line.
Senior right fielder Hanne Stuedemann (Mattawan, Mich./Mattawan) drove in Ball State's final run of the game in the next at bat, reaching on a fielder's choice as Dabkowski slid around the tag at home plate to make the score 6-1.
Notre Dame managed to tally single runs on sacrifice flies in both the fifth and sixth innings, cutting the Ball State lead to 6-3. The Fighting Irish also opened the seventh with an infield single, before hitting into a force play at second and a game-ending double play.
In picking up her first career NCAA Regional pitching victory, Steinbach limited the Notre Dane defense to six hits and three runs, only two of which were earned, over 7.0 innings of work. She also struck out three batters and did not issue a walk.
“Me and coach K [assistant coach Kassie Stanfill] had a good game plan going into the game,” Steinbach said when asked about her approach in the circle. “The major thing for me was just hitting my spots, keeping the hitters off balance. I was not going for strikeouts, I was trying to make them put it in play for my defense to work and my defense did a great job.”
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State softball, follow the team on Twitter: @BallStateSB and @TyraPerry13 / Instagram: ballstatesb / Facebook: BallStateSoftball.
